Bread-slicing machine



ug. l0 926.

H. RQ WAKEFIELD Er AL BREAJ sLIcING' MACHINE Filed Deo. 26, 1922 6Sheets-'Sheet 1 ww fino/amv' .NRN

Aug. 10,1926.. 1,595,696

' H. R. WAKEFELD ET AL BREAD SLICING MACHNE Filed Dec. 26; 1922 6Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 1o 1926.

H. R. WAKEFIELD AL BREAD SLI CING MACHNE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 l x l .IJ

Filed Dec. 26, 1922 Aug. 10,1926. 1,595,696 H. R. WAKEFIELD El' AL BREADSLICING MACHINE e sheets-sheet 4 Filed Deo. 26, 1922 Aug. l0 1926.

H. R. WAKE-FIELD x-:r AL

BREAD lSLI C ING MACHINE Filed Deo. 26, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 wwf Aug.l0 1926.

H. R. WAKEFIELD ET AL BREAD SLICING MACHINE Fi'led Dec. 26. 1922 6Sheets-Sheet 6 Qi? ggfzz/e/Lfa-IJ .Zim/M .77 as 0772?! Patented Aug. 1Q,1926.

STATES UNV'E HAROLD RGBERT WAKEFIELD, EDGAR TERRY,

AND JAMES RowLA'rfr, 0F LnIonsTnR,

ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO THE HARBORO 7 MACHINERY COMPANY LIMTED, OFLEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COlMPANY.

BREAD-sueurs' MACHINE.

Application filed. December 26, 1922, Serial No. 609,023, and in EnglandJanuary 5, 1922-.

rlhis invention relates to bread slicing machines and has for its obiect an improvement in the construction ot such machines whereby they maybe used for slicing bread and also for buttering, i. e. spreading withbutter thesurface o1 each slice as it is cut or severed from the loaf. f

In a machine constructed in accordance with the invention, a verticallydisposed or upright bread holder is traversed or reciprocated relativelyto -a cutter, and likewise to a butter apparatus when each slice is tobe buttered while being cut.

lThe bread holder may be in the form ot a tour sided box or trameprovided therein with a vertically movable ioor to support the bread,said door having combined therewith, means for imparting an upwardstepby-step movement to the loaf, at each traverse ot' the bread holder,so that the top end of the loaf is raised 'a slice thickness preparatoryto slicing.

Means are also provided Yfor automatically carrying away and stacking orpiling the slices after they have been cut of.

rThe buttering apparatus comprises a receptacle to contain the butter inbulk, and means to compress the butter and cause it to extrude through afeed orifice intothe path of the bread. Auxiliary means are furnished toseparate a portion oi the butter fromthe stock at each traverse andforce it to extrude through the feed oriice.

n order that our invention and the appli-` cation ot the same may beclearly understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure l is a front elevation ot the machine.

Figure 2 is an end view, and

Figure 3 is a plan thereof.

Figure e' is a vertical section on the line ay a of Figure 3. Y

Tiigure 5 is a sectional plan of the stockpot, taken on line b-b ofFigure 2, showing the mechanism for opening the slot thereunder, andalso for forcing the butter therethrough.

Figure G is a sectional trent elevation of Figure 5 showing themechanism for operating butter-feed.

Figure 7T is a sectional rear elevation of Figure 5, showing themechanism for operating the shutter.

Figure 8 is a detail view, showing the operation of the cut-outmechanism for the butter feed, and

Figure 9 is a' detail view ot the eccentric mechanism for raising andlowering the cutting means.

ln a machine constructed in accordance with this invention the breadstock, in the form ot' a loat, is carried in a vertically disposed orupright bread-holder l traversed or reciprocated on a carriage or frame2. rEhe said bread holder l, which may be in the form ot a tour sidedbox or trame, is formed with a loose bottom 7, capable of being raised apredetermined distance at each traverse to project the upper end ot theloaf a corresponding distance, equal to the thickness of the slice to beout, above the top open end of the said holder. Conveniently the frameor carriage 2 of the said bread holder, Vis at each side secured to aslide, block or equivalent 3, arranged to move to and fro i-n aguideway, formed on each side of the frame of the machine.

The traversing bread holder receives its motion from the mainy ordriving shaft 4 ot' the 'machineand suitable connections in- .terposedbetweenA the said shaft and the bread holder frame, an example ot whichcomprises a crank 5 and Ya connecting rod 6 united thereto and to theholder trame 2.

yFor imparting an upward step-by-step movement to the loaf, the door orbot-tom 7 ot the holder upon which the loaf rests,and

hereafter designated the bread support is provided at each side with aflexible cord, cable or equivalent 8, adapted to be wound upintermittently to elevate the bread support and the loaf thereon.

By preference the cord or cable 8 is connected at one end to each end otthe bread support 7 land passes over guide pulleys 9 to winding drums 10located one on each side ot a rotating spindle l1 mounted in bearings 12on the holder frame 2.

The said spindle 11 is intermittently rotated by a ratchet wheel 13thereon deriving motion from a spring trip lever pawl 14 which, as thebread holder reaches the limit of its return traverse movement from thethe ratchet more or fewer teeth forward asV desired and correspondinglyvary the slice thickness. Y l

therein. 4 -c The cutting or slicing' mechanism comprisesa circularrotating knife 17, the edge of which, When the empty holder is broughtto it, normally projects slightly over the edge of the upper part ofsaid holder.

Thesaid rotary knife is horizontally 'dis posed relatively to the breadholder and is arranged on the upper end of a short spindie 18 carried ina bearing formed in a slide or block 19, capa-ble of being raised in aguidevvay 2O formed therein to adjust the knife relatively to the upperend of the bread holder. Y

The adjustment ofthe said slide or block may be etlectedby an eccentric21 operable by a milled nut or equivalent 22 on the exterior of theframing. n

The knife is rotated by a bevel gear Wheel 23, on the opposite end ofthe spindle 1S upon which said-knife is mounted, and the said gear Wheelengages a larger bevel gear wheel 24 carried on a vspindle 25 receivingmotion from a small spur Wheel 26 thereon driven by a larger spur Wheel27 mounted on the driving shaft 4. Y c

Upon the machine being set in motion by the turning of a handvvheel orbeltV driven pulley 28 on the driving shaft 4, the knife is caused torotate and the bread holder is reciprocated to and fro relatively-to theknife and? passes completely under the knife so that the latter canseparate or slice olf the thickness of the bread Which projects abovethe upper edge of theA saidholder. Such slice When separated from thestock or loaf slides onto a traveling band 29 by v means of anadjustable conveyor plate 29h,

which conveys the slice into a box orl other suitable receptacle 30.

Motion is imparted to the said travelingV band by means of a cord orbelt 31 which travels between a pulley 32 mounted on the main shaft anda smaller pulley 33 mounted on a roughened or knurled spindle 34 aroundvfhich theA band travels.

rTheV bread holder as hereinbefore described, is four sided to fit theloaf to be cut-l up, and the said sides rigidly hold the loaf in anvupright position.. In order to @were a @lean Shear: Cut, en, adjustableshearing plate 35 is mounted on the rear sidel of he vstop is held inpositionbyv the insertion of a pin 16 into holes formed the open end ofthe bread holder, Which presses up against the loa-f. This plate isVVbinedwith the mechanism hereinbefcre re-V ferred to, by which eachslice of bread is coated With butter as it passes under thebutteringinechanismyvith sufficient close contact as to become coatedwith the butter 'eX uding therefrom. c Y I The bnttermg mechanismcomprises a re.-

ceutacie 36 for the stock or main su 3l of een butter, the saidreceptacle being' preferably in the. form of a stationary upright cyl-,inder, hereinafter referred to as'the stockpot, rigidly connected to theframe of the machine, and located' above the cutter and bread holder.

The said stock-pot is contracted in diameter at its lower Vend in whichan aperture '37, preferably in the forni of a lnarrow lon. gitudinalslot, is formed through which separated portions of the butterarerextruded into the path ofthe bread slice, Which, as itpassesthereunder, gathers the extruded butter and has its surface spread Vorcoated thereby. 1 Y Y Y The said stock-pot is provided with means` forinitially compressing the buttertherein prior to the machine beingstarted Vin operation and such `means permit of the pressure beingregulated or continued therein as the butter is'used.

Such means may conveniently consist of a piston 88 the integral verticalrod 39 which is carried by a crossbar 40 supported at each end on apillar 41 rising from, and rigidly secured to the frame.

A preferred form is such that the cross bar and the piston, When thelatter is raised above the top or entrance of the stock-pot, can swingon one side to give freeand unobstructed access to the opening and theinterior of the stock-pot, for replenishing the supply of butter or forcleaning purposes.

To achieve this object one end of the said cross-bar vis movablyfulcrumed on a stud or the like 42 on its pillar While the opposite endof the said bar is furnished With an open slot 43 which embracesthethreaded end 44 of its pillar `upon which it can be secured by a screwnut or like means 45.

VToenable the piston tol exe-rt the required downward pressure tocondense the butter in the stock-pot, the piston rod is surrounded by astrongspiral spring 46 compressible between the piston and a sleeve 47on theV pis` Y iently comprise al rack i8 formed on one side of the saidsleevev in which gears a pinion 49 on the spindle 59-of a smallhandwheel 51 the rotationy of which in one direction causes the pinionto lower the sleeve to compress the spring and piston, while therotation of the handwheel and pinion in the opposite direction reducesthe ltension of the spring. f

On the opposite side of said sleeve is another'rack 52 with which aspring controlled detent 53 is normally kept in engagement to lock andprevent back motion of the sleeve during Compression.

-When the piston is to be raised the said detent is withdrawn by handand keptv out of engagement with its rack until the sleeve has risen andthe spring has expanded to its position of inertia.

Auxiliary means are located inside at the bottom of the stock-pot toseparate a portion of butter from the stock at each traverse of thebread holder, and force it to `extrude through the feed orifice oraperture in the stock cylinder into the path of the upper face of theloaf which in its traverse, gathers it, and becomes coated therewith.

A preferred form of separator or extruder is shown in Figures 5 and 6,in which it takes the form of a wiper or plate 5A carried on atransverse rock shaft 55 controlled by a spring or the like, sol that itis normally maintained in a more or less upright position penetratingthe lower portion of the butter stock, and normally returns to thatposition under the influence of the said spring after each rockingmotion or descent to force a portion of the butter through the feedaperture.

The said rock shaft and wiper receive their motion for feeding purposesfrom a small spur wheel 56 on the end of the former engaged by aquadrant 57 formed on one end of a spring controlled lever 58, pivotedto a Xed part of the framing, pref-- erably a bar or the like 59,mounted on the bottom end of the stock-pot, the other end of said leverbeing furnished with a truck or roller 66, located in the track of a cam6l arranged on the slide block of the bread holder. wards the knife andbuttering mechanism, the said cam actuates the said lever and causes itto rock the shaft and the wiper or separator thereon, the latterthereupon detaches or separates a portion of butter and forces itthrough the feed orifice.

As soon as the cam passes out of contact with the lever, the spring 62,hereinbefore referred to, imparts a quick return motion of the rockshaft and wiper thereon.

rlhe lever is furnished with a knuckle joint, so that on the returnjourney of the cam, it yields and allows the cam to pass At eachtraverse of the holder tothereunder without actuating it, and the rolleris kept in 'its normal downward position by a flat spring or the like63, fastened to the lever. f

vWhen 'the machine is being used for cutting bread and not butteringsame, it is essential that the rocker shaft and wiper' the-reon shouldnot operate, and to prevent this a cut-out for the lever and roller isprovided. A convenient form of such cutout is shown in Figure 8 andcomprises a block 6a, fastened to the framing, having loosely mountedtherein a rod or 65, -to one end of which a bar 66 is rigidly attached.A handle or lever 67 is attached to the opposite end of the saidspindle. The lever 58 is provided with an extension 68 behind which thebar 66 falls upon the handle 67 being operated, thus swinging'r the'roller upwards to clear the cam track The feed slot or orifice 37 isnormally kept closed by means of a shutter or plate 69 which is locatedunderneath the said orifice, and such shutter is movable thereunder by aspring controlled lever 7 0 (Fig-A ure 7), having Vmounted thereon, atruck or roller 7l which is operated by a cam 72 disposed on or formingpart of the bread holder slide block. The lever 70 is mounted uponail-'eccentric 73, which latter can be turned by a disc (Figures 1,15and 7) gear actuated from an adjacent milled disc 74k (Figures l, 2, 3and 7) operable by hand.

Upon the disc 7 5 being turned in one direction, the eccentric lifts theroller 71 clear of the cam track 7 2 when no butter is delivered, and onbeing turned in the other direction the roller is lowered a determinedamount to vary the opening of the slot in the bottom of the stock-pot.

The disc 75, is, as shown in Figure l, arranged on the front of theframe of the machine and has graduations thereon which when it is turnedby the milled disc 7 4, move past a fixed pointer 7 6. The graduationscorrespond with those on a thermometer 77 and as the disc 75 is fast onthe spindle of the eccentric 73, rotation of the said disc will vary therelation of the roller 71 to the cam 7 2 and correspondingly vary themovementv of the shutter and the effective opening of the slot 87.

The consistency of the butter will naturally vary with the temperatureof the room but by turning the disc 75 until that graduationthereonwhich agrees with the temperature indicated by the thermometer comesinto register with the pointer 76, the shutter action can be regulated.to give an opening suitable for the proper delivery of the butter.

The lever 70 is pivotally connected to a bell crank lever 7 8, the otherend of which latter is connected to the shutter or slide spindlethelever 70 to its norinal and upon the truckeor roller 7lridingalo1lgthe cam 72, the saidvshutter is 4o-penedand as soon as the said campasses out of contact with the roller a small spring 79returns uprightposition, and a larger Spring 80 closes the shutter. A bead 84'sprovicled on the under side-.of the's-tock-pot to ensure equalvspreading of the butter .on the bread.

When the `movable floor or breadsnpport has risen tothe .top of. the.bread holder, an attachment 8l thereon causes a bell 82 to ringfand .anew loaf is then placed on the support. The lpawl 14 which `drives the lratchet-wheel 13 from .which the winding drums -derive their niotion .isthen .withdraw-n by a spring operated handle 83 from engagement `withthe said ratchet .wheel,

f frame along and by rdownward Vpressure on the loaf the bread supportisfree to be lowered .with the loaf, into the bread holder, preparatoryto vsnelliloaf being cut in the manner vher-einbeore described.

Details of construction inayvbe varied without departing from .the scopeof the invention.

Vhat we elaiin. then is 1.A bread slicing machine comprising, incombination, an upright bread holder, .a which sa-id bread .holder isslida'ble, means to traverse-,saidholder to and fro alongithe frame, .abutter appavlatter consisting of: a steek-pot to4 eontain butter in-Xbulkpineans to forcibly-:extiende butter thronghl feed -oriliee' in 4thebottom of the stoeknpot, a, shutter to .adjnst "thel areaofsaidv-.orifice and va hand joperated device .and moving said shutter.

.3. A `r bread .slicingVirnaohneeornprising in combination7 an yuprightfbread lielderg4 aV Getter, el ,butteringapparatus, mealle tofreciprocate the. bread holderrelatively .tothe cutter and'butteringapparatns,at slide ,carrying said euttera gnidewayalong whieh. 'saidvslide le movable 'for adiuetlng. .the ...cutter relativelyte the breadhemel-,ran eeee'ntre device for moving: the eeeentrfie.-

I formoving theelide and.l arhandoperabgle tures.

.EDGAR TERRY,

JAMES lR.OWLATGD intermediate connections 2for In testimony whereof wealiix our signa- YMeern ROBERT -wAKErrntnl f

